In all sincerity, how do you get out and find work and should you? I’m 40F and have barely left this country. I don’t know how to make a better life for me and my children and I’m not even sure that this isn’t still the ‘safest place’ as the saying has always been. Are all governments corrupt? Are they all at risk of war? Are rich people and corporations given legal passes and tax breaks everywhere? Is there gang violence, racism and sexism everywhere? I want to live without fear that my kids could be killed by some idiot with guns, I want our family to live a life free from servitude just to to pay for car+home+health insurance and not worry we could die simply because we couldn’t afford to pay the highest price for medical care in the world, and I want to know the government or a corporation won’t be allowed to harm people and places with toxic chemicals or skipping safety measures. I want to be more than fuel for capitalism. This is a serious question. I’ve intentionally left my home country out but I’m sure you have guessed.
I moved to the Netherlands at 47, with my wife and 2 teenage daughters; older son stayed in US to attend college, his choice. We moved from Los Angeles to just outside of Amsterdam. I don’t think our lives have been better. We don’t live in fear, our daughters feel like they have more freedom and rights. They travel regularly, alone; by bike and transit. They handle their own medical needs, with support from us. My work week is pretty standard at ~40 hours a week and my stress level is so much lower with factions, covered sick time and with just how things work. I am a white collar tech worker and I’m I have union rights and a guaranteed work contract. My wife is attending college to get a bachelors degree at a cost that is comparable to, if not lower than, most community colleges in the US. We don’t worry about our health care, as it’s affordable, available, and good.
We bike, walk, enjoy our neighbours and neighbourhood. We eat much more fresh food. And I’d say the cost of living is lower than the US. We take holidays to other countries and are surrounded by culture. And we bought a house within our first year here. We don’t intend to return the US, and my daughters certainly don’t want to.
I will say I am quite lucky, in work in the IT space, make a good salary and I like the company I work for. Politically, there is an actual LEFT (which I happen to be part of). Actual socialist parties, in power. It’s not perfect, and there are some of the same problems. Just not to the massive degree of the US.
Is it perfect? Hell no. But it’s better. I could say a lot. If you have specific questions I’ll try to answer them but now I feel like I’m rambling.